Cosmetic Chemist Joseph J. Cincotta

Seeing products he has created on store shelves is the greatest payoff for all those hours spent in a lab, says Cincotta. (That several of his products have won Allure Best of Beauty awards can't feel too shabby, either.) Cincotta spent 28 years developing hair products and the past five also working on anti-aging skin creams and serums. He says working on the Allure Beauty Product Finder has given him a competitive edge: "I got to study why my competitors used certain ingredients and how they worked—or didn't," he says. "That gave me new ideas for developing my own formulas." Cincotta is an adjunct professor of chemistry at Housatonic Community College in Connecticut.